Stocks Open To Broad Losses; Liquidity Services Rebounds

Auto manufacturers, gold miners and truck makers led broad declines early Wednesday following a soft March jobs report and Tuesday's no-new-stimulus message from the Federal Reserve.

The Nasdaq backed off 1.3%, the S&P 500 1% and the Dow Jones industrial average 1.1%.

Nearly half the Dow's 30 components lost more than 1%. Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan (JPM), Microsoft (MSFT) and Walt Disney (DIS) led the declines and were down 2% each. SanDisk (SNDK) weighed on the Nasdaq 100 with a 9% loss.

Service sector growth slowed in March, according to the Institute of Supply Management. The ISM index slipped to 56, down from 57.3 and below expectations for 56.7. It was the index's first slip in four months.

Among IBD 50 stocks, Polaris Industries (PII) and InvenSense (INVN) dropped 4%. Under Armour (UA), Ubiquity Networks (UBNT) and SolarWinds (SWI) slipped 3% each, although all three remained in their recent trading ranges.

On the upside, Liquidity Services (LQDT) climbed 2% and was in buying range on a rebound from its 10-week moving average. It was the stock's second visit to the line since clearing a base in February.

Thinly traded DDI (DDIC) surged 6% to a new high in heavy trade after chipmaker Viasystems Group (VIAS) agreed to buy the company for $282 million. Anaheim, Calif.-based DDI makes circuit boards used in military, aerospace and industrial applications.

See Also

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